WhatsApp is introducing a new privacy feature

On December 7, messaging giant WhatsApp announced a new privacy feature. You can now send a voice message that will disappear after listening. How does it work?

According to a note posted on its official blog, “When you want to read your credit card information to a friend or you’re planning a surprise, now you can share confidential information via voice messages with greater peace of mind.”

To be consistent with previously published one-time viewing of photos and videos, one-time viewing voice messages are clearly marked with a “one-time” icon and can only be played once.

Security and Privacy

As with all private messages, WhatsApp says it “protects your voice messages with end-to-end encryption by default, and Single View is another example of our continued privacy innovation.”

According to Information Delivered on December 7, the “one-time voice messages will be released worldwide in the coming days.”

Background

Starting in 2021, the app introduced Single View for photos and videos to add more privacy to users’ messages. To use the single view feature, make sure you download the latest version of WhatsApp available for your devices.

You can view photos and videos on WhatsApp at once

With this previously implemented function, the application guarantees that:

• Media files are not saved in the recipient’s Photos or Gallery sections.
• Once you send a view-only image or video, it cannot be viewed again.
• You may not forward, save, star, or share photos or videos sent or received in single view mode.
• If a recipient opens a photo or video that they view once, you can only see them if they have read receipts enabled.
• If the photo or video is not opened within 14 days of being sent to you, the file will disappear from the chat.

Let us know if new functionality appears Voice messages can only be viewed once implemented.